Marruecos detecta el primer caso de la variante Ómicron en el país
Morocco has confirmed this morning, according to its news agency known as MAP News, the first case of the new variant of the coronavirus called Omicron within the country. The case is a young woman under 30 years of age, who is currently under medical supervision in one of Casablanca's hospitals. For the moment, it is not known how she contracted this new strain, as she has stated that she has not travelled abroad, and her family, who are also infected by the virus, have the Delta variant.
The Ministry of Health has issued a statement which MAP agency has been able to access. "This first case of contamination by the new Omicron strain has been detected in a Moroccan citizen whose state of health is stable and does not cause concern and who is under the medical care of a hospital in Casablanca, the economic capital of the Kingdom," the ministry added.
For his part, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Tabet, issued a press statement in which he said that "after investigation, we discovered that this variant (was) not incoming, it is local. It is the result of a mutation in the city of Casablanca.
The minister appealed to citizens to continue to respect health measures in the face of this global outbreak, as well as recalling the safety of vaccines and the commitment that vaccination brings to the safety of the population. Ait Taleb also confirmed that the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom is under control and that it is hoped that there will be no further need to worry about the spread of the disease. He also assured that he and the Ministry are continuing their efforts to monitor and control the situation in the nation, in order to "preserve the achievements made by the Kingdom in managing the pandemic".
As of today, Moroccan authorities have reported 951,984 cases of the coronavirus and 14,798 deaths to date. However, almost one million people are reported to have recovered after the passage of COVID-19. The vaccination campaign continues to be a success, with more herd immunity now being sought with the distribution of the third dose that has already been given to more than 2 million people, and data from the Maghreb authorities claim that almost 23 million people have already received the full course of the vaccine, while 24 million have only one of the doses.
Following the detection of Omicron within its territorial limits, the authorities, while claiming that everything is under control and that for the moment it is an isolated case, have taken decisions and measures that once again affect flights and the different routes in and out of the Kingdom. Concerned about the situation of the compatriots who are outside the country, they have been allowed to return from 23 December. According to the COVID-19 inter-ministerial monitoring committee, this decision was taken because of "the rapid spread of the Omicron variant worldwide and its worrying progression in Morocco's European neighbourhood", adds the committee.
Faced with this situation and the concern of another outbreak and new waves of infected people, the tourism sector is the most affected. Since the closure of all routes into and out of the Kingdom, in addition to coinciding with the Christmas season, the tourism sector is going to close the year with losses, with very serious consequences for the Moroccan economy. Although the last quarter of the year has not yet ended, experts are already predicting a fall equal to or greater than that of 2020, which was a drop of 79%.
It should be noted that it is still not known what will happen to those who have remained locked up in the country, as there have been several reports of opening and leaving the country in the last month, but with this new circumstance, the only thing that is known is that Moroccans outside the borders will be able to return from 23 December.